Los Angeles daily herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1884-1890, 1887-12-08
NsL tlNE,S VIEWS.
lie Discusses the Message nne,
Opposes Its Propositions.

lie Discusses the Message and
Opposes Its Propositions.
New YORK, December THE Tri-
batne tomorrow ill contain long in
terview with Hon. James G. Blaine
on President Cl:veland's message.
He saws: 81 have been reading an alb
stract OF the Presidents message, and
have been especially interested in the
comments OF the London papers.
Those papers all declare that the
message is u free-trade manifesto, and
evidently are anticipating an enlarged
market for English fabrics in the
United States markets as cOnse-
uuence of the Presidents recommen-
dations. Perhaps that fact stamps the
character of the message more clearly
than any words can.
You don't mean actual free trade
without du'ya." queried the reporter.
NO" repl ed Blaine. Nor do the
London papers mean that; they
simply mean that the President has
recommended what in the United
States is known as the revenue ta'ilf,
rejecting the protective feature anu
not even permitting protection to re-
suit freely us Incidental to the revenue
duties"
Il don't know that quite compre-
bend that last part 2" SAID the re-
porter
Il mean" said Blaine, "that for
the first time in the history OF the
u. tied States the President recon-
mends retaining internal tax i'll order
that the tariff may be forced down
even helow fair revenue standard.
He recommends that thu tax on to-
b,cco be retained and thus that many
millions annually shall be levied Oh
domestic products which would f'r
better come from ia itf ON foreign
fabrics"
"rhen do You mean TO imply that
you wonld favor repeal Of the to-
baCco fax 2"
"Certainly, mean just that" said
Mr.. Bl,iue. II should urge that it be-
done ut once, even before the Christ
mas hulida>s. 1t would, in the first
place, bring great relief to growers
of tobacco all over the country, and
would, moreover. materially lessen
the price OF tohacc, to consumers.
tobacco to millions OF men is Il
necessity. The + esident calls
it luxury. 1t is well to remeu-
Der that the luxury OF yester-
day becomes II necessity of to-day.
Watch the number OF men at work on
farms, in codl mines along the rail-
roa.ls. in iron toundrles. or in any call
Ing, and YOU will find % out Of 100
chewing lille they work. After each
meal the ST. ne p oporti seek solAce
in pipe or cigar These men not
only pay millions in tobacco tax, hut
pa, an enh ,ncel price, which price
the tax enables the manufacturer and
retailers 10 impose. The only excuse
for such Il tax is the actual necessity
under which the government to nd
itself during the war and the Years
immeli heIy following. To retain the
tax now in order to destroy pro
lection, which wou'd incidentally
follow from rai,ing the sd @ amount
OF money on foreign imports, is most
extraordinary policy for cur govern
| ment."
well, then, Mr. Blaine, would you
advise Il re- cal OF the whisky tdXY'
No, l would not. Other cons der
ations than those of financial admin
isiraion are to be taken Into account
Nth regard TO whisky. There is II
moral side to it. 70 cheaper whisky
is to increase The c, assumption
enormously. There would be no
sense in urging the reform wrought
by high license i'll many states, il the
National Government neutral yes TIN
good effect by making whisky within
| the reach of every one, at twenty
cents a gallon. 1t would destruy
high license at once in all the States
Whisky has done vast deal OF harm
in the United States. | would try to
make it do some good. l would use
the tax to fortify our cities.
on the seaboard. In view OF the pow
erful letter addressed to the Demo-
cratic party on the subject of lortifi-
cations by Samuel j. Tilden in 1885,
[ am amazed that no attention has
been paid to the subject by the Dem
ocratic administration. Never in the
history of the world has any govern
ment allowed great cities on the sea-
board to remain defenseless.
"But," said the reporter, you
don't think we are to have war in any
direction ?"
"Certainly not; but we should
change the remote chance into an
absolute i'm ossihlity."
"But would not our fortifying now
possibly look as if we expected war ?"
"Why should it any more than the
Notifications made by our grand
fathers? They guarded themselves
against successful attacks from arma-
ments in that day. We do not neces-
sarily expect burglars because we lock
our door at night"
"But after the ratification construc-
! tons, would you still maintain the tax
ON whisky?"
"Yes; so long as there is whisky to
tax it, and when the national govern
ment should have no use for the